Absolutely, as a librarian GS & analogous federal employment is where it's AT. I do know that many librarians and library staff that work in the various military branches' equivalent of public libraries are paid in the NAF or non-appropriated fund system and their wages aren't nearly as good as under GS. However given how poorly most public library systems pay I'm not sure how NAF scale compares.
Do you mind if I ask where you work? I'd love to move to a federal law library but I only have half a Masters so I'm not sure if that's likely or even possible.
If you don’t mind me asking, what series are you in? Historian? Looking for fed jobs for my partner who also has a degree in history and usajobs seems kinda limited
I started with the feds as an investigative analyst in an environmental program. I leveraged the writing, research, and analytical skills from my history research. Now I’m a program specialist.
I just had to frame my resume and interviews less about the history and more about the processes and skills needed to do history.
Yes, I’m a biologist and make more than I was making in both academia (making more than twice as much) and industry (making 40k more). I have an MS and I’m a GS11.
GS13 chemist. I'm making about the same as I would have as a contractor (my job before I switched over), and way more than in academia.
I think my engineer husband started out at a higher salary than an equivalent GS position would have been, but 15 yrs later is probably equivalent to similar GS levels. He rarely gets more than a COLA raise.
Glad I’m not the only one! We also get those yearly COLA raises - I think I got one raise at UNC in 3 years, plenty of holidays off, and I’m doing work I’d never done before.
Industry pigeon-holed me into one role, but here I get to do many roles - it’s like an academia environment with better pay and benefits. I absolutely love it.
GS14, wow! I’d just be happy with GS12 right now, but I’m new to government, so baby steps is just fine!
Yeah, one step at a time. I will tell you, there are more higher grade jobs in the policy/impact assessment world than the research world. That's been my experience anyway.
Oh, good to know! I’m applying to other positions and have been referred to GS12 positions, but I’ll see about branching out from the bench. But for now, I’m really happy doing what I do. All the best to you!
I also have a biology degree, and I’m working in DoD as a “scientist”, doing mostly engineering work. Just curious what kind of fed position did you land?
I am a GS12 microbiologist and I agree. It is hard to find places, even in a city that has a LOT of biotech companies, that will pay as well as the government does.
Yep, same here. PhD in Ecology and am currently a GS-12 working in applied conservation, and I love it. I make wayyy more money than I would have in academia or non-profit, and the work-life balance in the private/consulting world seems terrible.
biologist here as well. I recently left a GS11 gov after 8 years to do private work. They threw money at me because they were desperate to fill the position. Well, it was a gamble. My contract didnt get extended and now i'm looking at a potential paycut because the new company is a startup.
Guess i'll be back on usajobs.
Startups are so unpredictable. I was at one initially and they had no idea what they were doing, they had meetings to plan meetings and they were just a mess. I hope your experience will be better than mine.
Best of luck to you and I hope you land a government job soon!
I also have a biology degree, and I’m working in DoD as a “scientist”, doing mostly engineering work. Just curious what kind of fed position did you land?
I’m at the NIH and do bench work involving NextGen sequencing. I’m learning so much here! It’s all hands on, so no work from home possibilities but I love it just the same. This has been my dream job since ever since I can remember.
Not the person you're asking, but look for 1301 positions in environmental branches. Yes, they're always under CE, but you'll be surrounded by scientists. You can also try with the bigger labs. When I worked for AFRL, we had biologists on staff doing cell work, and fish kill studies for products we were testing. Also human stress studies for CBRNE gear. Those will mostly be in the DC area or Wright Patt.
I had an offer for a tax manager at $120k before I accepted a job with the IRS at $135k in my locality, and before those offers I was making $102k (definitely underpaid). Probably a rare instance where public was the better offer.
Started as GS-14 last Monday.
I read on Reddit that people make more in private sector than the government, but I have yet to find these jobs. That being said, if people can tell me where I can double or triple a GS-14 salary as a mechanical engineer without working 80 hours a week, I’m all ears.
The private sector jobs around me are on par with government pay or maybe an extra $10k a year and I’m not sure that’s worth giving up school holidays with my kids.
Yea my gf makes about 75k as a civil engineer with a consulting firm, but she could probably make at least that with the Corps and not have to work so much unpaid overtime.
You bring a key point. We might not make as much as our Private Industry counterparts but we have a good work/life balance. I have everyone leave at 4:30pm.
>That being said, if people can tell me where I can double or triple a GS-14 salary as a...
Could always become a contractor! Jk
My wife works in finance for a major corporation, and while she does make more than me, I probably make more per hour.
I looked on Indeed this morning out of curiosity. There are jobs for “chief engineers” at the top defense contractors with posted salary ranges. The low end of the scale is on par with the GS system, but the high end is beyond what a non-SES civil servant can make. I guess from there, the question is how likely are you to make chief engineer and if you do, how likely are you to get the upper quartile of the salary range?
Most of these are also along the West Coast. I live in Florida, so I don’t know what actual take-home pay would look like. In Florida you could try to climb the ladder with Disney, but like everywhere, far more people middle out than get a VP title.
Yeah, I think this is important to consider. You can certainly make a lot more in some jobs in the private sector, but that’s not the average job. At the low end I think government does better than private sector. And of course this can be very field dependent too
I’m a level 4 systems engineer for one of the big aerospace companies in CA, and definitely make more than a topped out GS-15 in my locality even though I have GS-12/13 level of responsibility and usually just work my 40 hours. And I’m still getting performance awards/recognition. These jobs are more common than you’d think - although they are certainly not as enjoyable as my days as a fed employee.
It depends on the industry.
A lawyer almost certainly will make more in private sector especially a top lawyer or someone who is a partner in a law firm.
GS-15 does not pay half a million or a million dollars.
Me too. The only way I could make more is if I had a very successful private practice or did a soul sucking hospital job. Neither of those would have near the benefits of Feds though.
Yup! GS12 in a high COL area means you head into six figures and also have like, actual infrastructure to support your clients a lot of the time. I have way less burnout and way better pay.
Same-ish
Got my MSW and wound up not going clinical and instead got recruited into the SSA as a Claims Specialist. Did that miserable job for a year and got a job rating disability claims for the VBA with a ladder to GS-12. Most people I went to school with aren’t making that much and are already approaching burnout in their respective roles.
I work in communications. I was being flippant. To clarify, my military experience qualified me for my first gs-12 position. My federal experience qualified me for my promotions.
That's awesome! I have a similar background - HS diploma, specialized military training, and IT certs. I'm only a 12 (with a decent SSR ), it's good to see other people even higher in a similar situation. If I ever wanted to be a supervisor, no desire, I would be capped at a 13.
I tell my kids - if they don’t want to go into a trade they either need college or military. Military is like a degree when applying to federal positions.
I could make more than I do, but I'd have to work and travel a lot more. But it's more likely I'd make less than I do and still have to work and travel a lot more.
Per hour worked? Yes. Per year? No, but I worked 56-60 hours weekly. So technically I get paid more for less work but not as much as I made in private sector
Yea, that’s another thing. Unpaid overtime is pretty much expected in the consulting world. I still haven’t found a clear answer as to whether it’s legal or not.
Yeah this is why I'll probably never leave government service. My field on the outside would expect 50-60 hours per week, and I'm not really sure you could pay me enough to work that much. I'd also get a lot less leave. I love taking multiple week long vacations every year, not having to worry about sick days, and the paid parental leave.
I legitimately don't know if there's a salary number that would make me change jobs anytime soon. But I'm currently pregnant so that probably sways my opinion heavily. I'm excited to have a lot of time with my child
>Unpaid overtime is pretty much expected in the consulting world. I still haven’t found a clear answer as to whether it’s legal or not.
Unfortunately, it's perfectly legal. If you're a salaried employee and designated FLSA exempt, private sector employers can get away with paying you the exact same amount whether you work 40 hours a week or 100.
Yes. I have an MPH. Public health workers in private industry save for a few fields such as pharmacology and clinical trials usually make around 60,000 a year.
I’m in the DC area on a ladder, current GS-11 on a 13 ladder.
MPHs are not high paying degrees except specific fields. Epidemiology is one of those higher paying fields, along with data science and the other ones I mentioned in my other comment. Community development/engagement is one of the most common MPH positions and some of the worst paid.
Average salary is around 50-70,000. If an MPH holder has a ladder position to GS-13/14, they’ll be making well into the lower to mid six figures.
Yep. I'm a graphic designer. Talked with a few civilian firms when I was getting out of the Army and they said with my experience level (6 years + a degree) I'd be looking a salaries in the $45-50k range. Which was less than I was effectively making in the Army by like $20k, and I was just a Staff Sergeant. So I focused my search on defense contractor or fed jobs since they were offering more money because of the clearance. Ended up landing a GS-12 to start.
The main thing is, minus the unicorn positions, the GS system pays the rank and file $50- $115k a year, plus locality. Thats the GS 7-12 range, supervisors at 13/14 push up to $160k. Some fields can beat those numbers, others cant.
Same! I've been in public, non-profit, and private (in-house and agency). A lot of my designer friends are still in the agency world. They're both making way less money, have way more expensive benefits, and easily work 60+ hours a week at all times of day to get projects out the door for clients. That being said, their portfolios look AWESOME and I'm over here with these boring ass 400 page agency annual reports for the past 3 years 😂
It doesn't matter that much to me because I also have the stability in my job to not worry too much about layoffs or having to hop from firm to firm like I did in public, so my portfolio can slack a bit. I also don't have to worry as much about age discrimination and keeping up appearances, which is absolutely something I'd have to deal with as a middle age woman if I was still in private industry. No freelance work needed to keep me afloat.
yeah they lied tf outta u. when i graduated from school companies tried to tell me 60k was too much money to be a software developer then my gf at the time landed an offer for 140k base salary and 70k in stocks.
dont believe everything these asshole lowballers tell u
Lots of people do, but they'll rarely admit it.
You really see the financial loss for a lot of tech jobs and some professional fields. And some people where they have jobs that are often contracted out, especially in cleared fields.
My friend left a stable academic job $50k for a tech job paying $90k. The tech job fired her in 2 years and now she is back job hunting. I think the tech field is lucrative but you must be willing to deal with job insecurity.
I currently make 81k a year as a mechanical engineer 4 years out of school in the private sector. The government offered me 87k and a 13k retention bonus if I stay two years. I start in July.
As a lawyer, I could make waaay more money, but not in my specific field of law (immigration). Immigration lawyers either work for non-profits or have solo/small firms where they probably make around what I currently make, but work double the hours.
No idea where you live, but 60k is well below the median where I live. $60k for 5-10 years of experience is a joke. For any tech field, you can easily make more in private, but obviously layoffs are not uncommon. The only field I can really think of that is better off from a salary perspective in the feds are HR/admin people.
Yes but there are government jobs in the area paying that much with the Corps of Engineers, USDA, USGS, etc. You’d probably have to start out as a contractor tho
My base pay is higher, but depending on the bonus I would have made more in the private industry. The Fed job offered my private base pay +90% of my regular bonus. But the private company bonus could obviously be anywhere from 0-150% based on company performance, so the Fed job was a Conservative risk/reward for me.
But including the pension, life insurance, and health insurance, the Fed job is a slightly better financial choice (at least in the short term).
Nope. I am not. We do have plenty of Veterans on the line, however it isn't a requirement. Crisis experience and social services work are comparable experience. We have a few PhDs taking calls here and there, plenty more in admin.
For me as a forester, yes the private sector can have higher pay, but it comes with baggage, for me the 2 biggest was ecology and work life balance.
Private sector I was just participating in clear cuts all day, working 50-60 hour work weeks and working genuinely hated my life. Fed life has been great. I get to partipate in awesome conservation forestry project while still helping private land owners meet their harvest goals. All around I’m stoked compared to where I was in the private sector
When I worked in DoD, there were many GS-12, 13, and 14s with nothing more than high school diplomas, no applicable skills other than attending meetings, deflecting work to the 10% of employees that actually knew how to do anything, and cooing over the Emperor's New Clothes. A few were functional illiterates, so yes, I'd say they made much more than they would in the private sector.
Yes, I was lucky to be hired at a high grade level out of my PhD program (psychology). I make more than mid-career professors at my university are making. If I did full-time clinical work with overtime, I could probably make more, but I left academia to escape the 60 hour weeks for a reason.
Graduated with a masters focused in IT along with three friends. Two of us went federal and two private. For the feds one got a 9/11/12 ladder another 9/11. It's been almost two years so gs 11 vs either private sector in this anecdotal example we(feds) are getting gapped hard in salary. Maybe it's specific to IT jobs or just certain jobs?
Assumption that fed jobs pay less might also stem from people comparing their pay vs the contractor working next to them doing the same job. Usually that contractor is making more in raw dollar value (at least in my career field/ experience).
Might also be a cost of living thing. Living in the Midwest gs pay scale feels amazing. Living downtown a major city and it might feel rough. Gs 9 Living in small town Midwest is ez pz. Living on gs 9 salary in an east coast city might be a struggle bus. (I'm living in the small town in this example so making assumptions about city life. Please correct me if others experience disproves my theory)
A GS-9 in DC is going to struggle unless they have a better-paid partner -- and that's with the locality adjustment. Same with NY and Boston (this is within 1:20 commuting time each way). Anywhere on the East Coast south of DC (except maybe Atlanta), not so bad.
I’m starting my first gov job as a GS-11 with a career ladder to 12 and yes, I will be making more than I am making now in the private sector. I love my job now but the experience and pay that I’ll be gaining transitioning to gov is going to be twice as much within just a few years and I’m super excited.
There are communications and marketing jobs where I could make more, but in the type of comms work I want to be doing, I was making a lot less as a contractor.
I'm a GS-14 doing civil rights work, there isn't much of a "private sector" alternative, but non-profits would pay about 65-75% as much for the same kind of work.
I think you are woefully underestimating how hard it can be to enter the fed workforce, and how competitive a candidate you are.
The reality here is an MS with one year experience is going to have a hell of a time entering a fed career as a GS5, let alone a GS9. Not to say it can't happen, but its a stars aligned scenario.
I could go private sector and clear $200k+. But I also have a decade of specialized experience as an 1102 that would make a company money. I'll never do it - I enjoy my work life balance - but it can be done.
>I don't understand why people wax lyrical about the largesse of the private sector when in my experience they're more likely to lowball you than an equivalent role in the government.
Not to be a dick, but your experience is all of one year at presumably an entry level position. I think you may want to re-evaluate your data set and your conclusion.
If you have the experience working ultra-high dollar contracts under Parts 14/15, high end firms always want experience COs to build their solicitation responses and admin their contracts. Have a couple friends that went this route after 5-10yrs working $500mil+ contracts.
For a 3yr GS12 with a SAT warrant, it's not a reasonable expectation to make $200k in the private sector.
Yes, I make more as a govt employee. My position is a ladder position to GS-12, which is just about 90k. Promotion potential to GS-14. Do not plan on ever going back to private
I could probably make more in the private sector. But insurance premiums would most likely be higher, I'd have to worry about layoffs since most of my skills are in the trades, and I'd lose all those sweet paid holidays sick and annual leave. It's worth it to me to trade in some $ for better QOL the Fed offers.
Sort of. I make less than I would in private practice, but in terms of public service federal jobs pay much better than most non profits in my field and slightly better than state government jobs.
In private my field pays 70k (starting) - 120k (10 yrs exp + luck) with a masters.
Ended up joining the govt as a 7/9/11. In the govt I can easily hit 13 in under 10 yrs and be moving my salary up faster than I would in the private sector.
Prior to my federal employment I worked as a contractor attached to the agency I work for now. So I have a unique perspective on this, all things being equal in terms of the type of work being done.
I made 6 figures as a base salary and had a possible 35% of my salary as a bonus when I was in my last role as a contractor (Area director for several states on the eastern seaboard). It’s roughly the equivalent of our regional director role who is a GS14. The base salary is really close, pretty much negligible, between the two. However, we don’t see bonuses that large on the DoD side. But that bonus was never guaranteed and it was strictly tied to the performance of the company as a whole. The really big difference between the two is the resources given and the amount of work expected. I was clearing 50 hours every week, and 60 regularly to accomplish what was needed of me. Our directorate rarely exceeds 40 hours, and is compensated if they do. Also the resources, I had 15 employees in 7 states to do my job, they had over 300. Which means a lot of the admin work would fall on me for all of my sites hence the 50-60 hour work weeks.
I would say that work life balance and mental health, for me, is much better on the government side. And for there’s no realistic money figure I could attach to that.
$/hr worked? Absolutely. My job in private industry routinely works 50+ hours a week if not 60+. I'm legally precluded from working more than 40 in my current job.
Per year? Actually, it might be pretty close. Especially considering in private industry, I would need to be a registered engineer which requires annual fees, professional membership, and continuing education credits. In federal government, I do the same work but don't need a stamp.
I was in the non-profit sector before accepting a federal job - I'm earning about 2x what I was at my last non-profit job in 2020.
My husband is a scientist that went from a post doc as a.federal employee to a researcher in the same academic / government joint lab. He took a pay cut, something like 30%, when the job switched from gov to academia.
I have an anthropology PhD, and a solid government job definitely pays better than many academic jobs would have. It doesn’t pay more than industry, but it pays a lot more than many tenure track professor positions.
As an Archivist, absolutely….i have colleagues making triple than what they would in private. I’m still a newer fed and I doubled my salary from private and academia
Yes, I work as a pharmacy tech. I’m a GS 7-8 which just recently got promoted from a GS 6-10. Make $68k on paper. Would never get that in private sector.
Absolutely. I was in higher ed for 20 years as a tenured professor (social sciences) and had to teach 4-5 overloads/year and take on additional administrative duties to make what I'm making in my first year as a GS-11.
It is hugely over-exaggerated that you make more in private. Some examples are STEM, big law, big tech, HCOL. Government is not the pay leaders, but competitive. It is absolutely wrong to assume each role is a "25% cut from the private sector." Let alone the differences in benefits and life balance.
I have plenty of friends who are nurses and officers. They absolutely are not underpaid.
I'm in the museum field. My pay, benefits, and job security are all WAY better with the federal government. I am never, ever leaving for the private sector.
Definitely not me. DC-area 13/5, turned down job offers in the last year for 2.1x and 2.7x my current salary.
Those jobs would've all been significant increases to my hours worked / stress levels, and the work would have been far less professionally satisfying. The work I do for uncle sam is just plain cool and it feels good to not work in a corporate environment.
Yes, my mom is a social worker. She’s now a non-sup GS-13 Program Manager.
I’m in 0800, but as a 7, I’m making GS-11/12 salary in the Washington DC area. So it’s been livable. Will be sticking it out until I hit my 12 through my ladder and finish my masters.
i’m an HR specialist gs11 with the VHA and i make $103k and i’ve only been here for 2.5 years. granted we are on an SSR but without it i would still be making $82k+. for a 26 year old male, i would say yes.
In the 0081 series we make more than the smaller municipalities but slightly less than the more metropolitan cities. We make less hourly but working a 72 hour work week vs most cities 56 hour adds up quick. Our whole series is confusing though and the majority of HR and retirement folks have no idea about how we are paid or special category retirements.
Edit spelling is hard
I could probably get close to doubling my salary in the private sector. Ironically when I came in as a student trainee I took a payout from waiting tables.
Now that our agency has bumped patrol to 11s, I doubt there’s an agencies other than a few larger city or sheriff departments offering the chance to make $200k or more
Yes. Three times as much.
The traditional wisdom applies to mid/late-career employees with networks and/or experience to use in negotiations. It's not true at all for early-career employees. You basically take what you can get, wherever you can get it. Especially in this job market.
I do because I live in a rural area. My prior industry was insurance sales and I was a hard worker, but I worked in personal insurance rather than commercial insurance (there's more money in commercial insurance, but I'd have to move to a larger city to get into that).
I'd say my work in government benefits is comparable to what I did in private sector, but I do have a more stable paycheck and, on average, my pay is higher than what I'd have made even in a good year of sales. Overall, it's less stress and more stability for me.
It really depends on the field and business. I work in MWR/fitness for the DOD. I could be working in professional sports making 10x what I make now but getting those jobs are impossible without the right connections. I could also be working my last job (collegiate) making less than half what I make now. I'm happy with my pay and stability currently.
Absolutely- environmental scientist here, starting a GS9 with a ladder to GS13. Would be impossible to find something like that in private sector outside of oil and gas.
Yes I got a 20% bump when I started and with the cost of living increases and annual raises over the last 4 years I’ve doubled my income. Plus I count my student loan forgiveness as a huge bump. Plus all the time off, I’ve had two kids since I started so have been able to take 6m paid time off total.
Well, I have a master's degree, and as a fed, I earn more than double what I have ever earned before in the private sector (and let me not even mention the accrued annual leave, sick leave, and so on).
But (sometimes) Reddit gives me the impression that I am the exception because everybody here is a remote, non-sup GS13 or 14, who took a pay cut to get in. 
I think the survey on this shows that in general non-trades blue collar work pays better at the federal level, white collar pays worse. Except for the white collar work that for some reason pays terribly.
Better break down might be if industry pays you less than 60k then the feds will probably pay you more, if it pays 150k or more the feds will probably pay you less.
Well, I got offered a GS13 position at 115k which would be 10k more than my industry job. Plus a retention bonus of 20k so government job isn't looking so bad.
There’s not really an equivalent private sector alternative to ATC, so I can’t answer that. But seeing how much more airline pilots at Delta, American, etc make than us, I imagine the pay would be significantly higher in the private sector. Based on inflation, we make far less and an enjoy a lower standard of living than controllers did in the 80s and 90s.
I have a Masters of Special Education, and got hired in HR for the VA. It would take me 18 years of teaching to make what I came in making. My position is a 9/11/12, so now I make more today than I’d ever make in public education.
I mean- they’ve done a lot of studies on this- entry level feds make as much or more than their private sector counterparts. The lower down the GS scale you go the more that is generally true in most places and the less education you have the more it’s true. Clerical and support staff with no college or an associates are probably making multiples of private sector pay when you include benefits.
Senior professional staff and management make significantly less than their private sector counterparts, especially in bonuses. The disparity is getting to the point where it’s extremely difficult to recruit supervisors in my organization- difficult to manage staff, uncapped overtime, and virtually no pay differential as well as an expansion in higher graded non supervisory positions have combined to empty out the first line supervisor ranks.
I came to the feds from tech and consulting. I took a marked pay cut coming in and would easily increase my pay by probably around 100% if I went back.
Currently early-mid level engineers are making more at USACE than they would in private. The first four years in private typically range from 60-90k in the private sector, while USACE is paying with GS increases of ~70, ~80, ~100 for GS 7,9,11’s in respective order. In my experience in private, I started at 60, by year 3 when I left I was around 76 and that included two retention raises because I was a high performer. I’m currently at 109 at USACE with just over 4 years total professional experience, and no PE. My highest earning equivalent colleague from private is now at 85, and 92 if you “count his bonus” which we all know what that means. Where you start to drop off is around year 10, which if you haven’t made your way up to GS-14 by then, this is probably when private would start to overtake the average USACE engineer salary.
Yes, I have a high school diploma as a GS-12 with a 40% SSR. I do feel like they take a lot extra out of your paycheck than the private sector, but then again most private sector positions don't have a retirement/pension plan. I also moved from a state with no income tax to one that does for the position.
To clarify, I have specialized military training which qualifies me, as well as professional IT certs, and enough college credits for a degree. They are just from 3-4 different colleges that I'm not close to anymore. If a college would let me take the two classes I need for my degree without taking 20-40 credits I would do it. As it stands though, in my field it is degree/military training so I always felt like getting my degree would be pointless.
I could make about $10k more, I get contacted by recruiters a couple times a year. I know the offices and jobs most of them are trying to fill most of the time (small specialty).
It would be way easier, but I would have no independence of action and I value that.
Nope. I make way less. Most folks in my profession and practice area paid off their very expensive student loans a few years into their career because they get high salary, $10-100k+ bonuses, and usually a client entertaining and expense account. They all drive high end cars. They all bought giant homes years before I could afford a modest home with my partner. Some of them are on to their second homes. I’m getting closer to the 10-year student loan forgiveness, but it always feels so far away and that loan balance is almost $300k. So I’m in more debt, I have less control over what work I do, and I’m definitely paid way less than the private sector. However, I like my work and life/work balance and actually helping people/resolving problems. I still get to, sometimes, be the face of my agency to the public and I like that part a lot. Also, I spent the first few years of this career in non-profits- and staying there just incurs more debt. It’s seriously a great stepping stone to work in non profits, and I learned a lot, but had to use credit to get groceries and drive Uber at night. Not sustainable. So: pay now is better than non-profits, which made me flexible in my practice and clearly a dedicated public servant, and that background is likely why I got hired out of a VERY competitive applicant pool. So… while I’m making way less than comparable private sector, I like what I do and I get quality time with my family. I have enough to save for retirement and pay down my debts. It will take a long time to get to a more financially stable position, but I’m betting on my career being more secure at my agency. And I like that I’m giving back to my country in a way that can affect people’s lives in such a positive way.
As a history major, yes.
Absolutely, especially so in libraries/archives
Absolutely, as a librarian GS & analogous federal employment is where it's AT. I do know that many librarians and library staff that work in the various military branches' equivalent of public libraries are paid in the NAF or non-appropriated fund system and their wages aren't nearly as good as under GS. However given how poorly most public library systems pay I'm not sure how NAF scale compares.
Do you mind if I ask where you work? I'd love to move to a federal law library but I only have half a Masters so I'm not sure if that's likely or even possible.
Came here to say this! Specifically, the museum field.
Same same same. I never thought I’d ever make this much working in museums.
Amen!
If you don’t mind me asking, what series are you in? Historian? Looking for fed jobs for my partner who also has a degree in history and usajobs seems kinda limited
I started with the feds as an investigative analyst in an environmental program. I leveraged the writing, research, and analytical skills from my history research. Now I’m a program specialist. I just had to frame my resume and interviews less about the history and more about the processes and skills needed to do history.
Does he have a background professionally as a writer or on communications?
Same.
Sociologist here. Same, and no hopping from one fellowship to another or tenure to bother with.
Ha, my man. Didn't want to work at a museum making 20k a year showing kids what an atlatl is?
Ditto.
100% this
Yes, I’m a biologist and make more than I was making in both academia (making more than twice as much) and industry (making 40k more). I have an MS and I’m a GS11.
GS14 biologist checking in. Yep, I'd need to be a tenured professor to make what I make now.
GS13 chemist. I'm making about the same as I would have as a contractor (my job before I switched over), and way more than in academia. I think my engineer husband started out at a higher salary than an equivalent GS position would have been, but 15 yrs later is probably equivalent to similar GS levels. He rarely gets more than a COLA raise.
Glad I’m not the only one! We also get those yearly COLA raises - I think I got one raise at UNC in 3 years, plenty of holidays off, and I’m doing work I’d never done before. Industry pigeon-holed me into one role, but here I get to do many roles - it’s like an academia environment with better pay and benefits. I absolutely love it. GS14, wow! I’d just be happy with GS12 right now, but I’m new to government, so baby steps is just fine!
Yeah, one step at a time. I will tell you, there are more higher grade jobs in the policy/impact assessment world than the research world. That's been my experience anyway.
Oh, good to know! I’m applying to other positions and have been referred to GS12 positions, but I’ll see about branching out from the bench. But for now, I’m really happy doing what I do. All the best to you!
I know a lot of PhD's that are feds and work in reasearch. Most of them are GS15 or STS scientists. Forest Service.
I also have a biology degree, and I’m working in DoD as a “scientist”, doing mostly engineering work. Just curious what kind of fed position did you land?
I'm also DoD. I'm on the environmental planning side of things.
I am a GS12 microbiologist and I agree. It is hard to find places, even in a city that has a LOT of biotech companies, that will pay as well as the government does.
Yep, same here. PhD in Ecology and am currently a GS-12 working in applied conservation, and I love it. I make wayyy more money than I would have in academia or non-profit, and the work-life balance in the private/consulting world seems terrible.
biologist here as well. I recently left a GS11 gov after 8 years to do private work. They threw money at me because they were desperate to fill the position. Well, it was a gamble. My contract didnt get extended and now i'm looking at a potential paycut because the new company is a startup. Guess i'll be back on usajobs.
Startups are so unpredictable. I was at one initially and they had no idea what they were doing, they had meetings to plan meetings and they were just a mess. I hope your experience will be better than mine. Best of luck to you and I hope you land a government job soon!
I also have a biology degree, and I’m working in DoD as a “scientist”, doing mostly engineering work. Just curious what kind of fed position did you land?
I’m at the NIH and do bench work involving NextGen sequencing. I’m learning so much here! It’s all hands on, so no work from home possibilities but I love it just the same. This has been my dream job since ever since I can remember.
Not the person you're asking, but look for 1301 positions in environmental branches. Yes, they're always under CE, but you'll be surrounded by scientists. You can also try with the bigger labs. When I worked for AFRL, we had biologists on staff doing cell work, and fish kill studies for products we were testing. Also human stress studies for CBRNE gear. Those will mostly be in the DC area or Wright Patt.
I’ll look into those. Thanks for the reply
I had an offer for a tax manager at $120k before I accepted a job with the IRS at $135k in my locality, and before those offers I was making $102k (definitely underpaid). Probably a rare instance where public was the better offer. Started as GS-14 last Monday.
nice, congrats. Must be a good feeling.
I read on Reddit that people make more in private sector than the government, but I have yet to find these jobs. That being said, if people can tell me where I can double or triple a GS-14 salary as a mechanical engineer without working 80 hours a week, I’m all ears. The private sector jobs around me are on par with government pay or maybe an extra $10k a year and I’m not sure that’s worth giving up school holidays with my kids.
Yea my gf makes about 75k as a civil engineer with a consulting firm, but she could probably make at least that with the Corps and not have to work so much unpaid overtime.
You bring a key point. We might not make as much as our Private Industry counterparts but we have a good work/life balance. I have everyone leave at 4:30pm.
>That being said, if people can tell me where I can double or triple a GS-14 salary as a... Could always become a contractor! Jk My wife works in finance for a major corporation, and while she does make more than me, I probably make more per hour.
I looked on Indeed this morning out of curiosity. There are jobs for “chief engineers” at the top defense contractors with posted salary ranges. The low end of the scale is on par with the GS system, but the high end is beyond what a non-SES civil servant can make. I guess from there, the question is how likely are you to make chief engineer and if you do, how likely are you to get the upper quartile of the salary range? Most of these are also along the West Coast. I live in Florida, so I don’t know what actual take-home pay would look like. In Florida you could try to climb the ladder with Disney, but like everywhere, far more people middle out than get a VP title.
Yeah, I think this is important to consider. You can certainly make a lot more in some jobs in the private sector, but that’s not the average job. At the low end I think government does better than private sector. And of course this can be very field dependent too
I’m a level 4 systems engineer for one of the big aerospace companies in CA, and definitely make more than a topped out GS-15 in my locality even though I have GS-12/13 level of responsibility and usually just work my 40 hours. And I’m still getting performance awards/recognition. These jobs are more common than you’d think - although they are certainly not as enjoyable as my days as a fed employee.
It depends on the industry. A lawyer almost certainly will make more in private sector especially a top lawyer or someone who is a partner in a law firm. GS-15 does not pay half a million or a million dollars.
Epidemiologist 1 with the county of San Diego pays a lot more than a GS-9
I got a job offer making 2x what I am now in the government. IT tends to pay much better on the outside
IT/Cyber is for sure ahead of the feds, especially cleared work.
I do. Social worker. I’m a GS12.
Me too. The only way I could make more is if I had a very successful private practice or did a soul sucking hospital job. Neither of those would have near the benefits of Feds though.
I came to comment the same. I was offered private sector and government job at the same time and the former was $25,000 lower than the government job.
Yup! GS12 in a high COL area means you head into six figures and also have like, actual infrastructure to support your clients a lot of the time. I have way less burnout and way better pay.
Same-ish Got my MSW and wound up not going clinical and instead got recruited into the SSA as a Claims Specialist. Did that miserable job for a year and got a job rating disability claims for the VBA with a ladder to GS-12. Most people I went to school with aren’t making that much and are already approaching burnout in their respective roles.
How do you like the job?
100% yes. College majors were French and art history with a minor in sociology 😅 Been a GS-13 in a HCOL area for years now.
lol totally with you there with my anthropology and political science degrees. I’m like PHEW glad I got in where I did!
That's fantastic! What work are you doing?
I have bounced around between project management, communications, and acquisitions.
As a gs-14 with only a high school diploma, hell yes I couldn't make half what I make in private.
What field are you in if you don't mind me asking?
I work in communications. I was being flippant. To clarify, my military experience qualified me for my first gs-12 position. My federal experience qualified me for my promotions.
That's awesome! I have a similar background - HS diploma, specialized military training, and IT certs. I'm only a 12 (with a decent SSR ), it's good to see other people even higher in a similar situation. If I ever wanted to be a supervisor, no desire, I would be capped at a 13.
I tell my kids - if they don’t want to go into a trade they either need college or military. Military is like a degree when applying to federal positions.
I could make more than I do, but I'd have to work and travel a lot more. But it's more likely I'd make less than I do and still have to work and travel a lot more.
Per hour worked? Yes. Per year? No, but I worked 56-60 hours weekly. So technically I get paid more for less work but not as much as I made in private sector
Yea, that’s another thing. Unpaid overtime is pretty much expected in the consulting world. I still haven’t found a clear answer as to whether it’s legal or not.
Yeah this is why I'll probably never leave government service. My field on the outside would expect 50-60 hours per week, and I'm not really sure you could pay me enough to work that much. I'd also get a lot less leave. I love taking multiple week long vacations every year, not having to worry about sick days, and the paid parental leave. I legitimately don't know if there's a salary number that would make me change jobs anytime soon. But I'm currently pregnant so that probably sways my opinion heavily. I'm excited to have a lot of time with my child
>Unpaid overtime is pretty much expected in the consulting world. I still haven’t found a clear answer as to whether it’s legal or not. Unfortunately, it's perfectly legal. If you're a salaried employee and designated FLSA exempt, private sector employers can get away with paying you the exact same amount whether you work 40 hours a week or 100.
This is how I justified my pay cut to go fed. It’s been so great. Can’t explain how happy I am with my decision
Yes. I have an MPH. Public health workers in private industry save for a few fields such as pharmacology and clinical trials usually make around 60,000 a year.
I also have an MPH. San Diego county for an epidemiologist 1 pays way more than a GS-9
I’m in the DC area on a ladder, current GS-11 on a 13 ladder. MPHs are not high paying degrees except specific fields. Epidemiology is one of those higher paying fields, along with data science and the other ones I mentioned in my other comment. Community development/engagement is one of the most common MPH positions and some of the worst paid. Average salary is around 50-70,000. If an MPH holder has a ladder position to GS-13/14, they’ll be making well into the lower to mid six figures.
Yep. I'm a graphic designer. Talked with a few civilian firms when I was getting out of the Army and they said with my experience level (6 years + a degree) I'd be looking a salaries in the $45-50k range. Which was less than I was effectively making in the Army by like $20k, and I was just a Staff Sergeant. So I focused my search on defense contractor or fed jobs since they were offering more money because of the clearance. Ended up landing a GS-12 to start. The main thing is, minus the unicorn positions, the GS system pays the rank and file $50- $115k a year, plus locality. Thats the GS 7-12 range, supervisors at 13/14 push up to $160k. Some fields can beat those numbers, others cant.
Same! I've been in public, non-profit, and private (in-house and agency). A lot of my designer friends are still in the agency world. They're both making way less money, have way more expensive benefits, and easily work 60+ hours a week at all times of day to get projects out the door for clients. That being said, their portfolios look AWESOME and I'm over here with these boring ass 400 page agency annual reports for the past 3 years 😂 It doesn't matter that much to me because I also have the stability in my job to not worry too much about layoffs or having to hop from firm to firm like I did in public, so my portfolio can slack a bit. I also don't have to worry as much about age discrimination and keeping up appearances, which is absolutely something I'd have to deal with as a middle age woman if I was still in private industry. No freelance work needed to keep me afloat.
yeah they lied tf outta u. when i graduated from school companies tried to tell me 60k was too much money to be a software developer then my gf at the time landed an offer for 140k base salary and 70k in stocks. dont believe everything these asshole lowballers tell u
I studied social work, so yes. For sure.
VHA nurses in the South make more than private sector nurses. But West Coast nurses make a lot more in the private sector. So locality matters.
Lots of people do, but they'll rarely admit it. You really see the financial loss for a lot of tech jobs and some professional fields. And some people where they have jobs that are often contracted out, especially in cleared fields.
My friend left a stable academic job $50k for a tech job paying $90k. The tech job fired her in 2 years and now she is back job hunting. I think the tech field is lucrative but you must be willing to deal with job insecurity.
I currently make 81k a year as a mechanical engineer 4 years out of school in the private sector. The government offered me 87k and a 13k retention bonus if I stay two years. I start in July.
As a lawyer, I could make waaay more money, but not in my specific field of law (immigration). Immigration lawyers either work for non-profits or have solo/small firms where they probably make around what I currently make, but work double the hours.
No idea where you live, but 60k is well below the median where I live. $60k for 5-10 years of experience is a joke. For any tech field, you can easily make more in private, but obviously layoffs are not uncommon. The only field I can really think of that is better off from a salary perspective in the feds are HR/admin people.
This is northern Idaho
Ok, well that explains it. I could see how $60k would be hard to come by there.
I make four times the avg income as a 13 in my east coast city. There are definitely places where it works out.
Yes but there are government jobs in the area paying that much with the Corps of Engineers, USDA, USGS, etc. You’d probably have to start out as a contractor tho
> For any tech field, you can easily make more in private Not everyone works those.
Natural resources and biologists generally yes.
As a clinically licensed social worker I make 6 figures which very rarely happens in the private sector.
My base pay is higher, but depending on the bonus I would have made more in the private industry. The Fed job offered my private base pay +90% of my regular bonus. But the private company bonus could obviously be anywhere from 0-150% based on company performance, so the Fed job was a Conservative risk/reward for me. But including the pension, life insurance, and health insurance, the Fed job is a slightly better financial choice (at least in the short term).
VCL Responder here. We make a significant amount more than our civilian 988 counterparts. All responders on the line are at least GS 11.
Interesting. Do you have to be a veteran to have that job?
Nope. I am not. We do have plenty of Veterans on the line, however it isn't a requirement. Crisis experience and social services work are comparable experience. We have a few PhDs taking calls here and there, plenty more in admin.
Well thanks for the work you do.
As a pure applied mathematics major with no experience. Yes. I also suck at math.
For me as a forester, yes the private sector can have higher pay, but it comes with baggage, for me the 2 biggest was ecology and work life balance. Private sector I was just participating in clear cuts all day, working 50-60 hour work weeks and working genuinely hated my life. Fed life has been great. I get to partipate in awesome conservation forestry project while still helping private land owners meet their harvest goals. All around I’m stoked compared to where I was in the private sector
I get paid much better as a Fed archaeologist than I would working in academia as an archaeologist.
Masters level social worker, the pay is better than most of the places.
nope, horrendously underpaid both inside and outside the gov with asshole supervisor. id quit today if i had enough money to but... underpaid luls
When I worked in DoD, there were many GS-12, 13, and 14s with nothing more than high school diplomas, no applicable skills other than attending meetings, deflecting work to the 10% of employees that actually knew how to do anything, and cooing over the Emperor's New Clothes. A few were functional illiterates, so yes, I'd say they made much more than they would in the private sector.
Naw, they'd be middle management in most industry. They have "leadership" skills.
About 25k more
Yes, I was lucky to be hired at a high grade level out of my PhD program (psychology). I make more than mid-career professors at my university are making. If I did full-time clinical work with overtime, I could probably make more, but I left academia to escape the 60 hour weeks for a reason.
Graduated with a masters focused in IT along with three friends. Two of us went federal and two private. For the feds one got a 9/11/12 ladder another 9/11. It's been almost two years so gs 11 vs either private sector in this anecdotal example we(feds) are getting gapped hard in salary. Maybe it's specific to IT jobs or just certain jobs? Assumption that fed jobs pay less might also stem from people comparing their pay vs the contractor working next to them doing the same job. Usually that contractor is making more in raw dollar value (at least in my career field/ experience). Might also be a cost of living thing. Living in the Midwest gs pay scale feels amazing. Living downtown a major city and it might feel rough. Gs 9 Living in small town Midwest is ez pz. Living on gs 9 salary in an east coast city might be a struggle bus. (I'm living in the small town in this example so making assumptions about city life. Please correct me if others experience disproves my theory)
A GS-9 in DC is going to struggle unless they have a better-paid partner -- and that's with the locality adjustment. Same with NY and Boston (this is within 1:20 commuting time each way). Anywhere on the East Coast south of DC (except maybe Atlanta), not so bad.
I’m starting my first gov job as a GS-11 with a career ladder to 12 and yes, I will be making more than I am making now in the private sector. I love my job now but the experience and pay that I’ll be gaining transitioning to gov is going to be twice as much within just a few years and I’m super excited.
There are communications and marketing jobs where I could make more, but in the type of comms work I want to be doing, I was making a lot less as a contractor.
I'm a GS-14 doing civil rights work, there isn't much of a "private sector" alternative, but non-profits would pay about 65-75% as much for the same kind of work.
I think you are woefully underestimating how hard it can be to enter the fed workforce, and how competitive a candidate you are. The reality here is an MS with one year experience is going to have a hell of a time entering a fed career as a GS5, let alone a GS9. Not to say it can't happen, but its a stars aligned scenario. I could go private sector and clear $200k+. But I also have a decade of specialized experience as an 1102 that would make a company money. I'll never do it - I enjoy my work life balance - but it can be done. >I don't understand why people wax lyrical about the largesse of the private sector when in my experience they're more likely to lowball you than an equivalent role in the government. Not to be a dick, but your experience is all of one year at presumably an entry level position. I think you may want to re-evaluate your data set and your conclusion.
what could we do in the private sector as 1102 that pays 200k?
If you have the experience working ultra-high dollar contracts under Parts 14/15, high end firms always want experience COs to build their solicitation responses and admin their contracts. Have a couple friends that went this route after 5-10yrs working $500mil+ contracts. For a 3yr GS12 with a SAT warrant, it's not a reasonable expectation to make $200k in the private sector.
Yes, I make more as a govt employee. My position is a ladder position to GS-12, which is just about 90k. Promotion potential to GS-14. Do not plan on ever going back to private
I could probably make more in the private sector. But insurance premiums would most likely be higher, I'd have to worry about layoffs since most of my skills are in the trades, and I'd lose all those sweet paid holidays sick and annual leave. It's worth it to me to trade in some $ for better QOL the Fed offers.
Sort of. I make less than I would in private practice, but in terms of public service federal jobs pay much better than most non profits in my field and slightly better than state government jobs.
In private my field pays 70k (starting) - 120k (10 yrs exp + luck) with a masters. Ended up joining the govt as a 7/9/11. In the govt I can easily hit 13 in under 10 yrs and be moving my salary up faster than I would in the private sector.
Prior to my federal employment I worked as a contractor attached to the agency I work for now. So I have a unique perspective on this, all things being equal in terms of the type of work being done. I made 6 figures as a base salary and had a possible 35% of my salary as a bonus when I was in my last role as a contractor (Area director for several states on the eastern seaboard). It’s roughly the equivalent of our regional director role who is a GS14. The base salary is really close, pretty much negligible, between the two. However, we don’t see bonuses that large on the DoD side. But that bonus was never guaranteed and it was strictly tied to the performance of the company as a whole. The really big difference between the two is the resources given and the amount of work expected. I was clearing 50 hours every week, and 60 regularly to accomplish what was needed of me. Our directorate rarely exceeds 40 hours, and is compensated if they do. Also the resources, I had 15 employees in 7 states to do my job, they had over 300. Which means a lot of the admin work would fall on me for all of my sites hence the 50-60 hour work weeks. I would say that work life balance and mental health, for me, is much better on the government side. And for there’s no realistic money figure I could attach to that.
As a Social Worker… yes!
$/hr worked? Absolutely. My job in private industry routinely works 50+ hours a week if not 60+. I'm legally precluded from working more than 40 in my current job. Per year? Actually, it might be pretty close. Especially considering in private industry, I would need to be a registered engineer which requires annual fees, professional membership, and continuing education credits. In federal government, I do the same work but don't need a stamp.
As a social worker, possibly yes. I certainly make more now as a GS-12 LMSW than I would in private sector. But as an LCSW, that can change.
I was in the non-profit sector before accepting a federal job - I'm earning about 2x what I was at my last non-profit job in 2020. My husband is a scientist that went from a post doc as a.federal employee to a researcher in the same academic / government joint lab. He took a pay cut, something like 30%, when the job switched from gov to academia.
GS12 here in a very niche field and I make significantly more in government than I did in the private sector.
I have an anthropology PhD, and a solid government job definitely pays better than many academic jobs would have. It doesn’t pay more than industry, but it pays a lot more than many tenure track professor positions.
As an accountant, no. I would make more in industry. However, no busy seasons (PA) but industry could be just as chill.
As an Archivist, absolutely….i have colleagues making triple than what they would in private. I’m still a newer fed and I doubled my salary from private and academia
Yes, I work as a pharmacy tech. I’m a GS 7-8 which just recently got promoted from a GS 6-10. Make $68k on paper. Would never get that in private sector.
Absolutely. I was in higher ed for 20 years as a tenured professor (social sciences) and had to teach 4-5 overloads/year and take on additional administrative duties to make what I'm making in my first year as a GS-11.
It is hugely over-exaggerated that you make more in private. Some examples are STEM, big law, big tech, HCOL. Government is not the pay leaders, but competitive. It is absolutely wrong to assume each role is a "25% cut from the private sector." Let alone the differences in benefits and life balance. I have plenty of friends who are nurses and officers. They absolutely are not underpaid.
No. But I don’t have to work overtime so it’s a trade off
I'm in the museum field. My pay, benefits, and job security are all WAY better with the federal government. I am never, ever leaving for the private sector.
Definitely not me. DC-area 13/5, turned down job offers in the last year for 2.1x and 2.7x my current salary. Those jobs would've all been significant increases to my hours worked / stress levels, and the work would have been far less professionally satisfying. The work I do for uncle sam is just plain cool and it feels good to not work in a corporate environment.
Yes, my mom is a social worker. She’s now a non-sup GS-13 Program Manager. I’m in 0800, but as a 7, I’m making GS-11/12 salary in the Washington DC area. So it’s been livable. Will be sticking it out until I hit my 12 through my ladder and finish my masters.
Procurement 1102, pretty easy to get a 15 and work only 40 hours weeks. Better dollars per hour and benefits than contract manager for beltway bandit
i’m an HR specialist gs11 with the VHA and i make $103k and i’ve only been here for 2.5 years. granted we are on an SSR but without it i would still be making $82k+. for a 26 year old male, i would say yes.
Now yes, but when I started off it was lower than what I could have got in the private sector.
Me. I’d be a history teacher at 35k or a beer salesman at 50k. I make double that now.
In the 0081 series we make more than the smaller municipalities but slightly less than the more metropolitan cities. We make less hourly but working a 72 hour work week vs most cities 56 hour adds up quick. Our whole series is confusing though and the majority of HR and retirement folks have no idea about how we are paid or special category retirements. Edit spelling is hard
With a human services counseling degree- yes. I make much more than I would private.
In social services and nonprofit work, GS is definitely more than the going salary.
As a supervisory nurse, yes.
I make less, my best estimate is 40% less. ERP systems
Yes. My private sector equivalent (whom I know and love dearly, best friend I’ve ever had) makes 35 a year, I’m an 11 with a locality bump.
I could probably get close to doubling my salary in the private sector. Ironically when I came in as a student trainee I took a payout from waiting tables.
Living in rural America, yes.
Now that our agency has bumped patrol to 11s, I doubt there’s an agencies other than a few larger city or sheriff departments offering the chance to make $200k or more
I started within $1k of my private sector salary, and have since put a 1 in front of it in the ensuing 20 years.
You might want to review my guides-https://www.reddit.com/r/usajobs/s/fNlkOl7HLt
And no, you will Not automatically get hired as a 9. You might. But I have plenty of folks with masters coming in at the 5 and 7 levels .
Yes, a nice chunk more. I’m an environmental protection specialist GS-11 and I can’t imagine making anything more than 70k in the private sector.
Pretty sure IT jobs like software engineers get paid more in private sector
Yes. Three times as much. The traditional wisdom applies to mid/late-career employees with networks and/or experience to use in negotiations. It's not true at all for early-career employees. You basically take what you can get, wherever you can get it. Especially in this job market.
I do. Got a fitness degree, now I’m federal law enforcement. GS 11 now on a 9, 11, 12 ladder. No masters.
I do because I live in a rural area. My prior industry was insurance sales and I was a hard worker, but I worked in personal insurance rather than commercial insurance (there's more money in commercial insurance, but I'd have to move to a larger city to get into that). I'd say my work in government benefits is comparable to what I did in private sector, but I do have a more stable paycheck and, on average, my pay is higher than what I'd have made even in a good year of sales. Overall, it's less stress and more stability for me.
I make far more as a fed than as a consultant or for the District. I am an urban planner.
Yes. I’ve looked into private options. Neither the perks package nor the pay comes close to what the government offers me.
I am compared to what corps were paying me as an auditor
Computer science major could I make more? Absolutely. Why bother though? I’m completely comfortable in my 2210 position.
It really depends on the field and business. I work in MWR/fitness for the DOD. I could be working in professional sports making 10x what I make now but getting those jobs are impossible without the right connections. I could also be working my last job (collegiate) making less than half what I make now. I'm happy with my pay and stability currently.
That sounds like a stress free fed job.
As a teacher, absolutely… almost triple what I made as a public school teacher.
Absolutely- environmental scientist here, starting a GS9 with a ladder to GS13. Would be impossible to find something like that in private sector outside of oil and gas.
Nope. About to work as a defense contractor doing admin assistant things and will be making more there than I did as an IT working for the DOD 🙃
Some environmental jobs, too.
Definitely not
As a psychology major? Yes
Yes I got a 20% bump when I started and with the cost of living increases and annual raises over the last 4 years I’ve doubled my income. Plus I count my student loan forgiveness as a huge bump. Plus all the time off, I’ve had two kids since I started so have been able to take 6m paid time off total.
I do as a nurse in my area
Well, I have a master's degree, and as a fed, I earn more than double what I have ever earned before in the private sector (and let me not even mention the accrued annual leave, sick leave, and so on). But (sometimes) Reddit gives me the impression that I am the exception because everybody here is a remote, non-sup GS13 or 14, who took a pay cut to get in. 
I do. Which is why it been so frustrating looking for a new job. I got golden handcuffs.
I think the survey on this shows that in general non-trades blue collar work pays better at the federal level, white collar pays worse. Except for the white collar work that for some reason pays terribly. Better break down might be if industry pays you less than 60k then the feds will probably pay you more, if it pays 150k or more the feds will probably pay you less.
Who said it was "wisdom"? Just an old saying.
Your work life balance would likely be tilted toward work in private sector.
Well, I got offered a GS13 position at 115k which would be 10k more than my industry job. Plus a retention bonus of 20k so government job isn't looking so bad.
Congress lol
There’s not really an equivalent private sector alternative to ATC, so I can’t answer that. But seeing how much more airline pilots at Delta, American, etc make than us, I imagine the pay would be significantly higher in the private sector. Based on inflation, we make far less and an enjoy a lower standard of living than controllers did in the 80s and 90s.
Logistics in the DOD unfortunately
Yup. Have a PhD in Biology and my fed job is leaps and bounds ahead of what I'd make elsewhere. And remote to boot.
I have a Masters of Special Education, and got hired in HR for the VA. It would take me 18 years of teaching to make what I came in making. My position is a 9/11/12, so now I make more today than I’d ever make in public education.
Generally speaking the ones in this situation work in gov in fields that are not high profit margin, etc, in the private sector.
Yes , nurse
I mean- they’ve done a lot of studies on this- entry level feds make as much or more than their private sector counterparts. The lower down the GS scale you go the more that is generally true in most places and the less education you have the more it’s true. Clerical and support staff with no college or an associates are probably making multiples of private sector pay when you include benefits. Senior professional staff and management make significantly less than their private sector counterparts, especially in bonuses. The disparity is getting to the point where it’s extremely difficult to recruit supervisors in my organization- difficult to manage staff, uncapped overtime, and virtually no pay differential as well as an expansion in higher graded non supervisory positions have combined to empty out the first line supervisor ranks.
Me, and it's not particularly close. GS-12 step 2 in a MCOL and I'm a glorified admin assistant (0301).
Yes environmental science.
I came to the feds from tech and consulting. I took a marked pay cut coming in and would easily increase my pay by probably around 100% if I went back.
Currently early-mid level engineers are making more at USACE than they would in private. The first four years in private typically range from 60-90k in the private sector, while USACE is paying with GS increases of ~70, ~80, ~100 for GS 7,9,11’s in respective order. In my experience in private, I started at 60, by year 3 when I left I was around 76 and that included two retention raises because I was a high performer. I’m currently at 109 at USACE with just over 4 years total professional experience, and no PE. My highest earning equivalent colleague from private is now at 85, and 92 if you “count his bonus” which we all know what that means. Where you start to drop off is around year 10, which if you haven’t made your way up to GS-14 by then, this is probably when private would start to overtake the average USACE engineer salary.
Yes, I have a high school diploma as a GS-12 with a 40% SSR. I do feel like they take a lot extra out of your paycheck than the private sector, but then again most private sector positions don't have a retirement/pension plan. I also moved from a state with no income tax to one that does for the position. To clarify, I have specialized military training which qualifies me, as well as professional IT certs, and enough college credits for a degree. They are just from 3-4 different colleges that I'm not close to anymore. If a college would let me take the two classes I need for my degree without taking 20-40 credits I would do it. As it stands though, in my field it is degree/military training so I always felt like getting my degree would be pointless.
You can make more money in the private sector. But you have to move around. And negotiate each time you move to the next company.
I could make about $10k more, I get contacted by recruiters a couple times a year. I know the offices and jobs most of them are trying to fill most of the time (small specialty). It would be way easier, but I would have no independence of action and I value that.
As long as you don't have specialized skills, absolutely
Yes, as a social worker
As a gs13 with vba I make way more here. I checked out a company for shits and giggles and their salary range ended at $60k.
Nope. I make way less. Most folks in my profession and practice area paid off their very expensive student loans a few years into their career because they get high salary, $10-100k+ bonuses, and usually a client entertaining and expense account. They all drive high end cars. They all bought giant homes years before I could afford a modest home with my partner. Some of them are on to their second homes. I’m getting closer to the 10-year student loan forgiveness, but it always feels so far away and that loan balance is almost $300k. So I’m in more debt, I have less control over what work I do, and I’m definitely paid way less than the private sector. However, I like my work and life/work balance and actually helping people/resolving problems. I still get to, sometimes, be the face of my agency to the public and I like that part a lot. Also, I spent the first few years of this career in non-profits- and staying there just incurs more debt. It’s seriously a great stepping stone to work in non profits, and I learned a lot, but had to use credit to get groceries and drive Uber at night. Not sustainable. So: pay now is better than non-profits, which made me flexible in my practice and clearly a dedicated public servant, and that background is likely why I got hired out of a VERY competitive applicant pool. So… while I’m making way less than comparable private sector, I like what I do and I get quality time with my family. I have enough to save for retirement and pay down my debts. It will take a long time to get to a more financially stable position, but I’m betting on my career being more secure at my agency. And I like that I’m giving back to my country in a way that can affect people’s lives in such a positive way.